Abstract: Everyone agrees that trust is essential for decent human relationships, but our understanding of trust too often collapses in platitudes and falsehoods. It is typically treated as some sort of inarticulate bond between people, a social “glue” or interpersonal lubricant. In what Francis Fukuyama has famously called “high trust” societies, it functions as a kind of cultural “atmosphere” or “climate.” In personal relationships, we usually confuse trust with an unthinking, taken-for-granted attitude of unquestioning acceptance, or what we call “simple trust,” like the trust of a child for its parents. In business, we too readily conflate trust with contractual agreements and the enforcement that goes along with them. What we argue in this book is that trust is first of all a matter of decision, commitment, and action, whether in an intimate relationship like a marriage or in the businesslike atmosphere of a corporation. We introduce the notion of authentic trust, trust that is neither naïve nor “blind” but trust with its eyes wide open. It is a risky and uncertain world, but trust is what allows us to navigate it successfully, together. Our aim is not only to understand trust but also to give the reader the tools to build and maintain trust in personal and business relationships and to restore trust even when it has been lost or betrayed. Building Trust has grown out of many decades of experience, consulting with both corporations and couples.

Keywords: emotion, Fernando Flores, forgiveness, globalization, personal relationships, philosophy, reliance, resentment, Robert Solomon, trust